Marine 3-star, mocked by SECDEF, resigns
Joe S.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17911-2002May1.html
QUOTE
General With a Key Pentagon Role to Retire
By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 2, 2002; Page A13
A key general in the U.S. war on terrorism has decided he so dislikes his
job that he plans to leave the military at the end of this summer.
Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold is the director of operations on the
staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a slot in which he coordinates the daily
activities of the U.S. military around the globe. Known as the J-3, the post
is one of the most important positions in the U.S. military, and in the past
has been a stepping stone to four stars and a top command, occupied by
people such as Adm. Vern Clark, now the chief of naval operations, and
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, now the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
In an interview yesterday, Newbold said he never had an ambition to be a
four-star general, and simply was tired of the intensity of his post, which
he has held since Oct. 10, 2000. "It is a square hole, and I am round peg,"
he said.
It was not a job he sought, he added. "I came here because it was my duty,"
he said.
Newbold, 53, said he decided several months ago to retire, and has filed
papers stating that intention, but is waiting for Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld to approve his request. He would like to retire as a three-star
general, even though he has held that rank for less than two years and
current law requires three years in that rank to retain it on retirement.
If he could have a more active command, Newbold said, he would be inclined
to stick around. He said, for example, that he would much prefer being in
Afghanistan, where the ground commander is his former deputy, Army Maj. Gen.
Franklin L. "Buster" Hagenbeck. Newbold played a similar role when he
commanded the first Marines who landed in Somalia in 1992.
Newbold achieved prominence again on Oct. 16, when he said at a Pentagon
briefing that the Taliban militia then ruling Afghanistan had been
"eviscerated" by U.S. bombing. His choice of words was subsequently mocked
by Rumsfeld and by Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Newbold stopped appearing at Pentagon briefings.
Word of Newbold's decision has disturbed some officers on the Joint Staff,
where he has been a well-liked leader. "It surprised a lot of people," said
one general.
Some in the Pentagon speculated that Newbold was fatigued by Rumsfeld's
management style, which has been variously described by Pentagon officials
as "hands-on," "brutally honest" and even "abusive."
"It is a completely different atmosphere from the previous administration,
where our opinions weren't challenged," said one officer, who added that he
considers the new skepticism to be healthy for the military.
But Newbold rejected that interpretation of his decision, saying he was
leaving for two reasons: He owes it to his family, and he thinks it is time
to let younger Marine generals move up in the ranks.
Newbold said he realized months ago that he was not inclined to stay in an
all-consuming staff job that only would be followed by another move of his
family, which would be almost inevitable if he became a four-star officer.
"That weighs on me as I contemplate jerking them around to some distant
post," he said.
Rumsfeld recently has been picking new generals to fill several of the top
slots in the military establishment, such as the chief of the European
Command, for which he has tapped Gen. James L. Jones, commandant of the
Marine Corps. One person close to Rumsfeld recently listed Newbold as a
possible successor for Jones.
Asked what lies next in his life, Newbold said his ideal job would be in the
power tools section of a Home Depot store. "I like the aprons," he said. But
because his family needs more money than that job pays, he said, he is
likely to look at think tanks and corporate jobs.
"I'm looking forward to a job that doesn't have the intensity and lack the
quality of life that this one has," he said. "This is a crucible job."
END QUOTE
I retired with 28 years of active duty, including assignments in
pressure-cooker jobs at the Pentagon. The general's claim that he wants to
retire because of the pressures of the job do not ring true. People who
attain 3-star rank do so BECAUSE THEY THRIVE ON PRESSURE, not because
pressure bothers them.
His statements about his reasons for retirement are typical of what a senior
officer would say -- he is too polite and too dedicated to the Corp to tell
everyone the real reason he is leaving -- he's professionally fed up with
Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz and their frat-boy boss, the chief of the Bush junta.
Friends of mine still in the Pentagon tell me that the incident in which
Rumsfeld and Meyer mocked LTG Newbold damn near set of a rebellion among
officers on the Joint Staff.
By the way, during the legally-elected TWO Clinton administrations, how many
3-star generals of any service resigned over their treatment at the hands of
the administration?
Bush junta scorecard:
-- Terrorist leaders killed: 0
-- Marine generals trashed: 1
--
- - -
Regards,
Joe S.
--
- - -
Regards,
Joe S.
Hola
How many times did Clinton launch missiles into an aspirin factory to divert
attention from his penis? Once.
How many times has Rumsfeld run Defense? Twice.
I think this guy is right, he's a square peg in a round hole. Maybe he was
ok in 8 years of sucking up to Clinton and getting his 3rd star, but when a
strong Sec of Def comes in, he doesn't like being told what to do anymore.
Wish him well and goodbye.
"Joe S." <j...@schlatter.org> wrote in message
news:ab3m8...@enews2.newsguy.com...
ken...@shangrila.net
"Joe S." wrote:
Heh, heh. I'll bet if Newbold had said something about Rumsfeld not
understanding the word "eviscerate" to the media, that he wouldn't have had to
wait. Wouldn't have been a three-star, either.